Count Ferdinand
von Zeppelin, a brigadier general of Cavalry retired from the army in
1891 and devoted himself to the study of aeronautics. In 1894 the German
government rejected his proposals for a lighter-than-air flying machine.
Although now aged sixty, Zeppelin decided to invest all his own money in
a company, producing airships. He continued to improve his airship and
in March 1909 the German army purchased the Zeppelin Z1. By the outbreak
of the First World War they owned seven of these airships. In the early
part of the war Zeppelins were used for bombing raids. A Zeppeling
bombed Liège in Belgium on August 6th, 1914 but was forced to land
after encountering artillery-fire. Three more Zeppelins were destroyed
by ground forces over the next two weeks. Although easy to hit, the
Germans continued to use them for attacks on France.

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